Uninstall your current Firefox version, if possible, to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.

Do NOT remove personal data when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because all profile folders will be removed and you will also lose your personal data like bookmarks and passwords from profiles of other Firefox versions.

Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.

It is important to delete the Firefox program folder to remove all the files and make sure that there are no problems with files that were leftover after uninstalling.

Your bookmarks and other profile data are stored in the Firefox Profile Folder and won't be affected by an uninstall and (re)install, but make sure that "remove personal data" is NOT selected when you uninstall Firefox.

Create a new profile as a test to check if your current profile is causing the problems.
See "Creating a profile":
*https://support.mozilla.org/kb/profile-manager-create-and-remove-firefox-profiles
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Standard_diagnostic_-_Firefox#Profile_issues
If the new profile works then you can transfer some files from an existing profile to the new profile, but be careful not to copy corrupted files.
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_data_to_a_new_profile_-_Firefox
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If that didn't help then do a clean reinstall and delete the Firefox program folder before reinstalling a fresh copy of Firefox.
*C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Installation_directory
Download a fresh Firefox copy and save the file to the desktop.
*Firefox 17.0.x: http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all.html
Uninstall your current Firefox version, if possible, to cleanup the Windows registry and settings in security software.
*Do NOT remove personal data when you uninstall your current Firefox version, because all profile folders will be removed and you will also lose your personal data like bookmarks and passwords from profiles of other Firefox versions.
Remove the Firefox program folder before installing that newly downloaded copy of the Firefox installer.
*It is important to delete the Firefox program folder to remove all the files and make sure that there are no problems with files that were leftover after uninstalling.
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Uninstalling_Firefox
Your bookmarks and other profile data are stored in the Firefox Profile Folder and won't be affected by an uninstall and (re)install, but make sure that "remove personal data" is NOT selected when you uninstall Firefox.
----
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Standard_diagnostic_-_Firefox#Clean_reinstall

Helpful Reply

As a fellow tech support professional, I would hope and expect Mozilla to look into this issue and resolve it in a timely fashion. Clearly many of their users are affected by this problem. Clearly, the simple yet ineffective solutions listed on various forums and sites are not working as desired.

Firefox has been having issues for the past few years and with the likes of new browsers on the horizon I would think that customer satisfaction and a stable product would be on the forefront of their business plan.

Please get this issue resolved or I (a faithful firefox user and promoter since early 2005) will be sticking with Opera.

As a fellow tech support professional, I would hope and expect Mozilla to look into this issue and resolve it in a timely fashion. Clearly many of their users are affected by this problem. Clearly, the simple yet ineffective solutions listed on various forums and sites are not working as desired.
Firefox has been having issues for the past few years and with the likes of new browsers on the horizon I would think that customer satisfaction and a stable product would be on the forefront of their business plan.
Please get this issue resolved or I (a faithful firefox user and promoter since early 2005) will be sticking with Opera.

this happens every now and then can't type anywhere in firefox closing and restarting does nothing i never did the complete reinstall cause them problem just seem to come and go randomly the only thing that worked to fix it every time is to right click firefox and run as administrator.

this happens every now and then can't type anywhere in firefox closing and restarting does nothing i never did the complete reinstall cause them problem just seem to come and go randomly the only thing that worked to fix it every time is to right click firefox and run as administrator.

Run as Administrator (in XP) has in fact restored the ability to enter text in fields in firefox with the keyboard. Firefox intializes as if a new install from Administrator login (import Window and Make default dialog appear), though no new profile appears in profile manager.
New profile had not resolved the problem in any way.

I would characterize this as a clumsy work around.
It would be nice to find the real bug (through many versions at this point) and remedy it. Since I often remote to the machine where the problem occurs (during local use), I wonder if ts has anything to do with it.

Run as Administrator (in XP) has in fact restored the ability to enter text in fields in firefox with the keyboard. Firefox intializes as if a new install from Administrator login (import Window and Make default dialog appear), though no new profile appears in profile manager.
New profile had not resolved the problem in any way.
I would characterize this as a clumsy work around.
It would be nice to find the real bug (through many versions at this point) and remedy it. Since I often remote to the machine where the problem occurs (during local use), I wonder if ts has anything to do with it.

Since I have to use Chrome to enter this Reply, I might as well /just/ use Chrome, no?
On this machine, login as Administrator did not reatore type in firefox. Profile manager doesn't accept type either, so New Profile isn't a valuable work around.
What has happened at Firefox? sad days.

Since I have to use Chrome to enter this Reply, I might as well /just/ use Chrome, no?
On this machine, login as Administrator did not reatore type in firefox. Profile manager doesn't accept type either, so New Profile isn't a valuable work around.
What has happened at Firefox? sad days.

I'm having the same issue just upgraded to 20.0 and now I can't type in the address bar. I set my homepage to google I can navigate from there but nothing else.

I have reset my firefox and even disabled all the addons and still no luck.

I'm having the same issue just upgraded to 20.0 and now I can't type in the address bar. I set my homepage to google I can navigate from there but nothing else.
I have reset my firefox and even disabled all the addons and still no luck.

There appears to be a problem with Firefox 20 with UNC paths when using roaming profiles on a server.
*[[/questions/955140]] why is the 20.0 address bar unresponsive?
This is currently investigated and tracked via this bug report.
*Bug 857672 - Address Bar not working (roaming profiles;UNC path support OS.File)
<i>(please do not comment in bug reports: [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/page.cgi?id=etiquette.html])</i>

I just had this problem in Firefox 20 on Windows 64-bit. I tried various other keys (alt, etc.) and decided to check my add-ons. I hit ctrl-shift-A and was surprised that the tab opened! After that, typing worked in the rest of the app. Weird.

I just had this problem in Firefox 20 on Windows 64-bit. I tried various other keys (alt, etc.) and decided to check my add-ons. I hit ctrl-shift-A and was surprised that the tab opened! After that, typing worked in the rest of the app. Weird.

Helpful Reply

Some have reported that pressing the Windows key had worked with this issue.

Try to press Fn + Windows Key (laptop) or another function key like F9 + Windows Key and then click in the text area to see if this works.
You may have to repeat this a few times.

Some have reported that pressing the Windows key had worked with this issue.
Try to press Fn + Windows Key (laptop) or another function key like F9 + Windows Key and then click in the text area to see if this works.<br />
You may have to repeat this a few times.